White Bean Chili

by

This was an unexpectedly successful recipe – not perfect, but one that probably only needs a little tweaking to make it work.  It’s derived from a recipe from Taste of Home, a magazine that isn’t exactly focused on healthy cooking, but is focused on tasty home cooking – and many recipes can be modified to be vegetarian or healthier.

So what this is is a white chili – basically white beans in a spicy broth.  More on how it came out after the recipe:

Ingredients:

  • 2 Tbsp Olive Oil, divided
  • 1 large, white onion, chopped
  • 1 Tbsp crushed garlic
  • 3 cans (14 oz ea) low-no sodium white beans, about 5 cups
  • 1 1//2 cups low sodium vegetable broth
  • 2 oz chopped green chillies, drained (you can find 4oz cans easily, just divide it an freeze the rest)
  • 1 Tbsp Soy sauce
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/8 tsp ground red pepper
  • 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp dried Cilantro
  1. Sautee the onion in one Tbsp Olive oil until softened
  2. Add garlic to onion, stir regularly until onion and garlic begin to brown.
  3. Add all other ingredients except remaining olive oil and dried cilantro. Mix thoroughly.
  4. Bring to simmer, and simmer covered for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add remaining olive oil and cilantro, stir thoroughly. Bring to simmer.
  6. Remove from heat and serve.

And the results?

This was pretty good, and the combination of spices, peppers, and vegetable broth had real character to it and a definite kick.  It wasn’t quite intense/deep enough for my tastes, but close – I think it needs either a bit more salt, black pepper, or soy sauce – though I don’t want to jack the sodium up too far.  Some white wine vinegar added at the end might do it too – I find a good vinegar does wonders for spicy dishes.

But for a first try?  This was an excellent recipe.  It’s also pretty fast, so I think once I get this right it’s going to be a personal favorite.

Serving-wise I served it with corn and cherry tomatoes, with water to drink.  I think it’d be great with corn chips and might work well as part of a larger Tex-Mex-fusion meal.  Serving-wise I’m not sure of an ideal drink – probably would be good with sparkling water or a light beer.

Now on to nutrition

I broke it down into five servings as a main course.

  • Calories: 301 cal
  • Protein: 14g
  • Fat: 9% USRDA
  • Sodium: 7% USRDA
  • Carbs: 16% USRDA
  • Iron: 22% USRDA
  • Calcium: 18% USRDA

– Steven Savage

Steven Savage is a Geek 2.0 writer, speaker, blogger, and job coach.  He blogs on careers at http://www.musehack.com/, nerd and geek culture at http://www.nerdcaliber.com/, and does a site of creative tools at http://www.seventhsanctum.com/. He can be reached at https://www.stevensavage.com/.